Recently, there has been an increasing demand for non-volatile memory devices such as a flash memory which can be electrically programmed and erased. Non-volatile memory devices are widely used in storage media for portable electronic devices, such as digital televisions, digital cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and MP3 players.
Typically, non-volatile memory devices include an array of cells and bit lines and word lines to control the programming operations of the cells. To perform a program operation in a non-volatile memory device, a bit line setup operation is performed, in advance, to provide a voltage to a bit line according to a programming state of a cell coupled to the bit line. As a result of the bit line setup operation, the cell connected to the bit line may be distinguished typically from among the following types of cells: a cell to be programmed, a cell inhibited from being programmed, and a cell to be slowly programmed.